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UNotes

Black History Month 2022 Acknowledging and Celebrating Black History

February 01, 2022
Submitted By: Office of Diversity and Community Engagement
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Black History Month is celebrated each year in February and is a time to acknowledge and celebrate the heritage, culture, and accomplishments of those who identify as Black and/or African American, while also recognizing the on-going struggles faced within these communities in the United States.

Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), conceived and announced “Negro History Week” in 1925, with the goals of promoting the study of African American history as a discipline and celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976 the celebration was expanded to a month and was renamed “Black History Month.”

This is a time for the UHart community to honor the identities, history, cultures, and contributions of Black and African Americans. We encourage everyone across the University to attend celebrations and educational programs throughout the month and explore further resources to expand their own learning and understanding of the history, cultures, and experiences of Black and African Americans.

We hope you’ll join us for the numerous Black History Month Programs happening throughout February; view full details here.

FEB. 2, 9, 16

“Only the Ball Was White”: The Negro Leagues and Their Place in American History 

  • Guest Speaker: President Emeritus Walter Harrison
  • Date: Wednesdays, Feb. 2, 9, 16 from 7 p.m.–8:15 p.m. 
  • Platform: Virtual via Zoom
  • Register online

FEB. 18

Activism through Action: Moving Beyond a Hashtag

  • Guest Speaker: Zyahna Bryant
  • Date: Friday, Feb. 18 from 12:45 p.m.-1:45 p.m.
  • Platform: Virtual via Zoom
  • Register online

FEB. 21

From Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela: The Global Vocabulary of Black Liberation

  • Guest Speaker: Garrey Dennie
  • Date: Monday, Feb. 21 from 12:45 p.m.-1:45 p.m.
  • Platform: Virtual via Zoom
  • Register online

FEB. 24 THROUGH MARCH 26

The Georgette and Richard Koopman Distinguished Chair in the Visual Arts Exhibition presents illustrations by Floyd Cooper

  • Date: Feb. 24 through March 26
  • Location: Joseloff Gallery 

 

Resources

Videos/Documentaries/Movies/Shows:

  • 13th (2016) - In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.
  • The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011) - With contemporary audio interviews from leading African American artists, activists, musicians and scholars, The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 looks at the people, society, culture, and style that fueled an era of convulsive change. Utilizing an innovative format that riffs on the popular 1970s mixtape format, Mixtape is a cinematic and musical journey into the black communities of America.
  • One Night in Miami (2020) - A fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s.

 Podcasts:

  • Black History Year - Black History Year connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are left out of the mainstream conversations.
  • Black History for White People - #BHforWP is a multiethnic collective dedicated to loving black and brown people by educating, resourcing, and challenging white people to actively participate in racial justice. 
  • The Nod - The Nod tells the stories of Black life that don't get told anywhere else, from an explanation of how purple drink became associated with Black culture to the story of how an interracial drag troupe traveled the nation in the 1940s. We celebrate the genius, the innovation, and the resilience that is so particular to being Black in America, and around the world.
  • Southlake - The unveiling of the Cultural Competence Action Plan set off a backlash that’s consumed Southlake, fueled by a growing national crusade against critical race theory. Hosted by NBC News national reporter Mike Hixenbaugh and NBC News correspondent Antonia Hylton, Southlake tells the story of how one idyllic city became the test case for a new political strategy with national repercussions.

 Websites/Articles:

  • 1619 Project - The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.
  • Black History Month - The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
  • Black History Month Resource Guide for Educators and Families – A resource provided by the Center for Racial Justice in Education, focused on centering, honoring, and uplifting the histories, stories, and voices of Black people.
  • The Battle Over Teaching Critical Race Theory - An NBC News analysis finds at least 165 local and national groups are trying to disrupt or block lessons on critical race theory. NBC reporter Tyler Kingkade explores who is waging this fight, and why.
  • SlaveVoyages - The SlaveVoyages website is a collaborative digital initiative that compiles and makes publicly accessible records of the largest slave trades in history. Search these records to learn about the broad origins and forced relocations of more than 12 million African people who were sent across the Atlantic in slave ships, and hundreds of thousands more who were trafficked within the Americas. Explore where they were taken, the numerous rebellions that occurred, the horrific loss of life during the voyages, the identities and nationalities of the perpetrators, and much more.

 Books:

  • The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
  • Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
  • How We Can Win: Race, History and Changing the Money Game That's Rigged by Kimberly Jones
  • Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams

Black Content Creators on Social Media

TikTok:

  • @_lyneezy
  • @garrisonhayes
  • @jordxnsimone
  • @kahlilgreene
  • @racialequityinsights

Instagram:

  • @blackgirlactivist
  • @eji_org
  • @mspackyetti
  • @therealrynnstar
  • @zysaidso

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Contact Christine Grant, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement (cgrant@hartford.edu; 860-768-4220) and/or Lisa Coté, Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (licote@hartford.edu; 860-768-4932).